EAST MONTPELIER ó Three people were injured when a paving roller being towed by a truck crossed the center line Friday on Route 2 and collided with a third vehicle, according to Vermont State Police.

The crash shortly after 4 p.m. left both the roller and the vehicle it hit overturned, and backed up late-afternoon traffic.

A helicopter from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center hovered overhead and landed in a field near the crash scene to pick up Tiffany Simard, 27, of St. Johnsbury, who police said suffered a severe leg injury.

The driver of the paving roller, Jessie Snelling, 30, of Westminster Station, had a head injury, police said. The roller and the vehicle it struck, a Dodge Durango driven by Christopher Mooney, 37, of Waterford, overturned some distance apart.

Police said Simard was a passenger in the Durango, which they described as totaled, with heavy damage to the driverís side rear and the undercarriage.

Mooney had a cut on his forearm, according to state police. He and Snelling were being treated Friday evening at Central Vermont Medical Center, authorities said.

According to Vermont State Police, the crash happened when the paving roller was being towed west by a Chevrolet truck driven by Darrin Tyminski, 48, of Cornish, New Hampshire. The truck wasnít damaged, and its driver wasnít injured.